Sandbox & Co, a London-based digital learning provider, has announced its acquisition of leading digital learning platform PlayKids, marking the company’s first venture into Latin America.
Since its creation in 2015, Sandbox & Co has rapidly expanded its portfolio of digital education products and services aimed at kids, parents and teachers. Many of their products focus on digital education through interactive learning and gaming.
The PlayKids app and Leiturinha are currently the Brazilian platform’s most popular brands, garnering four million monthly users. The PlayKids app is a video-on-demand platform for children aged 2-6, while Leiturinha is one of the largest kids’ book subscription services in Brazil. Both are leaders in digital education within the region.
“We have been big fans of PlayKids and Leiturinha and are delighted to welcome them to the Sandbox family as a perfect complement to our existing suite of products,” said Bhav Singh, founder and CEO of Sandbox & Co.
“I’m excited to have Guilherme Martins, CEO of PlayKids, onboard to lead the rollout of our wider portfolio into LatAm and am equally thrilled that Movile is joining us as shareholders as we continue to build towards an industrial-scale enterprise focused on ‘super serving’ millennial and Gen Z families.” he continued.
With the great talent, know-how and entrepreneurial grit that Sandbox offers, the combination of the two businesses will deliver engaging educational experiences and improve learning around the world – Silvia Motta, Movile
Movile, one of Brazil’s most significant investors in tech, is PlayKids’ majority owner. As a result of the acquisition, Moville will become a minority investor in Sandbox. Movile has received funding from Prosus, a world-leading technology investor, who has led investment rounds for iFood, Sinch and Zoop.
Silvia Motta, strategy and M&A director at Movile, said: “We have built PlayKids from an app serving a few thousand learners to a globally recognized children’s education platform in the last few years.
“With the great talent, know-how and entrepreneurial grit that Sandbox offers, the combination of the two businesses will deliver engaging educational experiences and improve learning around the world. We look forward to continuing on this journey with Sandbox.”
Sandbox has expanded rapidly in recent years and currently owns 17 brands with a peak monthly audience of over 60M children, parents and teachers. Included in the company’s portfolio is Code Kingdoms, which teaches kids coding, and Hopster, an education platform for nursery school kids.
Unlike many other industries, online and digital education platforms have excelled as a result of the global pandemic, creating unparalleled momentum within the industry.
“Last year, following the pandemic’s impact, there was a clear uptake in digital acceleration and a need to quickly reinvent how kids are educated and entertained during the lockdowns,” said Guilherme Martins, CEO of PlayKids and founder of Leiturinha.
“I see that trend continuing and am excited to work with Bhav and the other Sandboxers to extend our digital offerings and introduce Sandbox’s online learning products to the Latin American market,” he concluded.
You might also like: Virtual College acquired by Spanish e-learning specialist, Netex